LaGrange

LaGrange Review

You'll find a pleasant diversion at LaGrange, which lies 70 mi southwest of Atlanta via Interstate 85 and 27 mi northwest of Pine Mountain. A major cotton-growing region before the Civil War, the town's relative isolation from the battlefronts made it an ideal location for hospitals and convalescent centers. This was also home to the "Nancy Harts," the only all-female militia unit to serve in the war.

LaGrange Art Museum. Today the inviting town center is set around lovely LaFayette Square. Named for the Marquis de Lafayette, a major-general under General George Washington in the Revolutionary War, here's where to find the small but impressive LaGrange Art Museum and its exhibits by regional contemporary artists. 112 LaFayette Pkwy., 1 block off Sq.30240. 706/882-3267.

Bellevue. A little farther afield is Bellevue, a stately, colonnaded 1850s house, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and considered one of the finest examples of Greek Revival architecture in Georgia. 204 Ben Hill St., 30240. 706/884-1832.